Further Adventures in SuperSitting
by lucayathegood
Summary: If there's some sort of rule that states that you can't have a nice dinner out with your sister on Valentine's Day, well, Max Thunderman's never heard of it. Thundercest.
1. And Then There Were Three

_Boys get mistaken for dating their sisters, like, all the time... That's definitely a thing, right? It's probably completely normal - clearly nothing to lose sleep over. Who is he kidding? Max Thunderman is fifty shades of screwed_.

* * *

"You can't just say things like that!" Phoebe Thunderman, to put it nicely, was pissed.

"Look, I said I was sorry already, okay?" Max Thunderman, to put it honestly, was not.

"Not okay, Max." Taking her thoughts elsewhere, she stomped to the kitchen. And, like with everything else, he wasn't far behind.

"Link won't even talk to me now. And it's Valentine's Day!" She reached for a package of noodles, preparing what was now sadly a dinner for one.

"Let's state the obvious," he returned unapologetically, crossing his arms in that way that said he'd had more than enough bull shit for the day. Before she could reply, their parents strolled in, a bouquet of roses held between Barb's hands.

As if Phoebe needed a reminder of her butchered evening plans (and relationship?).

"Well, we're off, kids," Hank said proudly, a grin plastered happily on his face, "Billy! Nora! Chloe!" He called up the stairs. Their other siblings raced down the stairs, the oldest of the three reaching the kitchen first. Naturally.

Barb, noticing her daughter's glare piercing daggers at her present, reached gently for her arm.

"Is everything all right, Phoebe?" she asked, and Phoebe wanted to tell her, she really did. Ugh, what she wouldn't give to talk out her issues with someone right now, but she wasn't so heartless that she'd ruin their plans just to be selfish. Nope, that was Max's thing.

Eyes glancing across the room at her twin, she sighed. "Nothing to worry about."

"We're taking your siblings to grandma's while we're gone," Barb began, Hank raising his eyebrows.

"It's going to be a long night." Barb elbowed him in response. Chloe, who'd been watching intently from the corner, tugged on her mom's arm.

"I don't want to go, mommy," she whined. Barb glanced down at her youngest, not quite ready to disappoint her. "I'm sorry, honey, but Phoebe's going out with Link," she motioned to her eldest, "I assume you have some sort of plans for tonight, Max," she directed at her son.

The twins looked at each other, neither look less hostile than the other.

Max shrugged nonchalantly, "You assume wrong."

Phoebe, eyes never leaving her twin's, responded at the same time with "Not anymore."

"Oh?" Barb asked. "Well, then I guess you wouldn't mind watching Chloe, would you?"

Phoebe sighed, pulling an extra bowl from the cupboard. "Not a problem."

The rest of the family left in a hurry. Not that the twins noticed, their anger clouding everything else. "We'll talk about it later, Phoebe!" Barb, motherly instinct kicking in, yelled over her shoulder as she closed the door.

The room filled with a mood now noticeably paralleling that of before.

"And then there were three.."

* * *

It'd been less than an hour, and Phoebe had already: cried her eyes out (we're out of tissues!), frozen Max (only to unfreeze him seconds later at Chloe's request), and burned the spaghetti (this is all your fault!)

"Me? How is this at all my fault?" A bewildered Max asked. Phoebe made her way back from the garbage can with an empty pot and slightly burnt fingers. Not bothering to answer Max, much less look at him, she followed her sister into the living room, plopping down on the couch with as much energy as their father had on Saturday mornings. Chloe sat next to her, legs criss-cross-applesauce and face showing early signs of boredom. Max looked down at his phone, checking the time.

He couldn't take this anymore. "That's it - we're going out."

Phoebe whipped her head around, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. She watched as Max grabbed three coats from the closet - black for him, purple for her, and blue for Chloe. He pulled a wallet and keys from his coat pocket, headed for the door.

Phoebe shook her head, "I don't think so, Max."

He turned back around, absentmindedly counting dollar bills in one hand.

"C'mon, Pheebs, you're all dressed up," he gestured toward her outfit, eyes lingering ever so slightly.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," she scoffed, earning an eye roll on Max's part. He picked Chloe up gently, working the coat sleeves over her arms.

Standing up from the couch to stop him, Phoebe crossed her arms. "It's Valentine's Day. Let's just order pizza; Besides, there's no chance we're getting in anywhere tonight," she said matter of factly.

Max, recalling what Phoebe'd told their mom just an hour earlier, looked in her direction with a purple coat in one hand and a smirk. "Not a problem."

* * *

 **Written in response to an anon prompt on tumblr asking for a Max/Phoebe + Chloe date night fic :) I hope you like it! It's supposed to be a two-shot, but possibly more if i feel there's any potential for that. I apologize in advance for the typos bc I'm sure there's a million of them. Please review, it means the world to me!**


	2. Second Favorite Thing

"And is there any reason in particular as to why you just _happen_ to have reservations to the second nicest restaurant in the city?" Phoebe asked, slinging her coat along the back of her seat.

Max, taking a look around the room, pulled a chair from an empty table nearby for Chloe.

"I'd argue that it's _the_ nicest restaurant, but whatever," he added, avoiding the question.

Phoebe squinted her eyes in suspicion. "You didn't answer the question."

He shrugged. "I didn't have one." Was he lying? Did he steal it? Who did he freeze? Phoebe pinched the bridge of her nose in exhaustion. Normally she would have argued, but, honestly, with all the shit that had happened today, she was just thankful to eat. Choosing to drop the subject completely, she turned to Chloe, pointing at the children's menu.

They bickered for a few minutes, Chloe going back and forth between Pizza and Mac & Cheese and Phoebe trying to convince her to add a side of greens (her superpower might not be sonic-screaming, but it sure sounded like it).

Twenty minutes later and they'd finally made a decision (pizza it was), had their servings of salad, and were ready for the main course. That's not to say that there hadn't been thrown rolls and spilled drinks - all in an attempt to teach Chloe to be healthy ("Just let her eat what she wants, ohmygod") Yeah, people had stared more than once. Soon they were served, left to their own devices. The mood was hostile for a few minutes, but really no different than the rest of the evening had been.

"Hey, Pheebs, can you pass the salt?"

She glared, doing as he asked but offering no words.

Max sighed. "Are we really still doing this?"

Continuing to cut her steak ("are you sure we can afford this?") she ignored him like he was a bad grade and she wasn't willing to retest.

"Look, I said I was-"

"-I know what you said!" she snapped, setting her plate aside. "I also know what you said to Link."

Max looked down, knowing it'd be crazy to interrupt her now.

"You want to know what Link told me?" But he knew. He already knew because he said it himself so why on earth did she think he wanted to hear it again? "He said that you told him that we weren't good for each other. That we wouldn't last."

"Phoebe, I-"

"And then, wait, here's the best part," she began, laughing. Laughing like it was funny even though he knew the situation was anything but. "He believed you," she murmured. "He said that he'd thought about it, and maybe you were on to something. Isn't that hilarious?"

But it wasn't. Not at all. Chloe looked back and forth between her siblings.

... "Why would you say that?"

Nothing.

"Why would you act like you know anything about my relationship with Link? Who gave you the right?" She reached to wipe away the tears before they could escape her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Phoebe," he mumbled. Loud enough for her to hear, but not quite so for her to make out the words he'd already said a million times over.

She raised her eyebrows slightly. "What?"

Max sat his drink down, looking her in the eye when it was the last thing he wanted to be doing. "I said that I'm sorry, okay? I just," he started, not sure how to explain how he was feeling but willing to try, "I only said all that stuff because-"

She waited, eyebrows still raised but tears finally stopped.

This was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be.

"I said it because I was afraid, alright? Ever since you started dating Link, hanging out with him is, like, all you ever wanna do. I just didn't want to lose spending time with you?" He cringed as he said, happy that it was finally out but embarrassed as hell. A slow smile began forming on Phoebe's face (but she's still mad at him. Obviously.)

"It's, like, my second favorite thing." He smirked. "You know, next to taking over the world."

Phoebe chuckled lightly. "Oh, yeah. That."

A few seconds passed before either said a word, Phoebe being the one to break the silence.

"It's okay," she said. "I guess I understand." Smiling again, she added, "But don't think I'm not still pissed about it. Because I am."

Max chuckled, returning the smile. "Oh, obviously." But something was still bothering him. He glanced to the side, blowing the pizza on Chloe's plate after she complained of its heat.

"Winnie," he said, not making eye contact.

Phoebe was taken aback. "What?" She asked.

"You asked me earlier how I had reservations to this place," he gestured around the room, but Phoebe was still confused.

"And the most popular girl at our school has anything to do with that _how_?"

"She was my date," he answers nonchalantly. "For tonight. I asked her a few weeks ago, actually. But-"

"-she blew you off?" She asked with what Max hoped wasn't pity. He shrugged.

Phoebe's eyes grew apologetic, a look of pity in them. She reached across the table, fumbling for his hand to hold. It was cold, rough. _Probably from the guitar playing_ , she thought. (But Phoebe doesn't think about Max's hands. She doesn't) "Oh, Max, I'm sorry. I can't believe she'd do that." Yep, definitely pity.

"Eh, I'd say it's more of a loss for her. Maxie T's got better ways to spend his time anyways," he said smugly before looking around the room at where he was actually spending that time. Who he was actually with (and maybe this is what he meant.)

Phoebe looked away shyly, about to pull away when Chloe placed her hand on top of theirs. It was small, barely covering Phoebe's but trying really, really hard to.

Chloe finally smiled, the brightest she had all night, and it did nothing if not generate the same response in Max and Phoebe.

"Check?" a nameless voice asked. Phoebe pulled away, startled.

"Huh?" Max asked, eventually caring enough to pull his eyes away from Phoebe's.

The waitress tried again. "Would you like the check?"

Phoebe reached for her wallet, ready to pay. "Yes, please," she answered as Max intervened with a wallet of his own. "Pheebs," he insisted, "let me." They bickered for a few minutes before coming to an agreement ("I didn't actually have any money, anyways").

They stood up to leave, Max again helping Chloe into her coat before setting her on the ground to walk out. But as she took his hand in hers, she took Phoebe's, too, just as the waitress was coming back to collect her tip.

She smiled knowingly at them. "Don't you guys just make the cutest little family? " She wondered aloud. "Happy Valentine's Day."

She turned to leave almost as suddenly as she'd appeared, and either they both heard her or didn't seem to care, because neither said a word as they made their way out the doors. (It's completely normal for people to mistake your sibling for your spouse, right?) But the looks of their faces said it all.

Once outside, Phoebe's phone buzzed.

"Billy and Nora sick of grandma already?" Max asked, desperate for a distraction from the thoughts running through his mind right now (they weren't good ones).

"Link, actually," she all but whispered. "He said he's sorry. Wants to get ice cream." She didn't look at him, she couldn't and she had no idea why (maybe a hunch, but that's as far as she'd let it go).

He avoided her eyes, too, continuing to pull Chloe along with him. "Go," he offered, and this funny feeling in his stomach must be from dinner. Food poisoning, even. It had to be.

"Really?" she asked.

He stared at his feet. "Really, I can watch Chloe. _It's fine_." And all of a sudden she really wasn't too excited about seeing link. Wasn't this what she'd wanted all night? What she'd cried over? Argued over? ( _No_ , a little voice inside her head whispered. It was something else entirely and she wouldn't let herself think of it, because the voice sounded a lot like Max's and she didn't listen to him anyways.)

So she left, and Max couldn't help but wonder if maybe what just happened wasn't so normal after all (but she could tell him the answer to that).

* * *

 **Thank you you for all the comments, reviews, and just reading in general :) it really means a lot to me, and I hope I can write a lot more for my new OTP. Who's excited for Wednesday's episode?**


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